WASHINGTON  House Republican leaders vowed to reverse the course of Washington and "realign our country's compass" in a wide-ranging agenda unveiled six weeks before the fall elections.

The 21-page "Pledge to America," released Thursday at a Virginia hardware and lumber store, focused largely on government spending, the economy and ways to roll back ideas proposed by President Obama, including the new health care law.

"Government is out of control," said House GOP leader John Boehner, sounding a theme repeated throughout the plan. "And we need to rein it in."

An anti-Washington mood has endangered dozens of House Democrats this year, bolstering the GOP's hopes that they can recapture the majority in the November elections. To do so, the party would need to win back 39 seats.

Democrats called the plan a retread: "The Republican agenda ... will take us right back to the exact same agenda that failed middle-class families," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said.

The plan includes 33 proposals such as extending tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush and directing more resources to the U.S.-Mexican border. Here's a sampling of the GOP proposals and the political reality facing them:

Proposal— "We will roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone and putting us on a path to balance the budget."

Analysis— Cutting spending to pre-2009 levels could save money in the short run, but it would not address long-term budget shortfalls or the factors expected to drive up the nation's debt, budget experts say.

Federal spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security is projected to grow from 10% of the economy today to 16% in 25 years, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The Republican plan doesn't include details for how to address those increases.

"It's focused on the areas that aren't the drivers" of long-term budget deficits, said Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. "Real reforms are going to have to come from entitlements."

Proposal — "We will cancel the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a move that would save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars."

Analysis — The 2008 bank bailout program, signed by Bush, has essentially run its course. No new money can be spent after Oct. 3.

Republicans including Boehner have focused on the initial $700 billion price tag, but recent analyses show the bailout will cost far less. The CBO estimated last month that the government will recoup all but about $66 billion of the bailout money. "The single-largest deficit reduction (factor) might be repaid TARP money," quipped budget expert Stan Collender of Qorvis Communications, who called any plans to do away with the program "a political statement."

Proposal — "Congress should move immediately to cancel unspent 'stimulus' funds. ... Throwing more money at a stimulus plan that is not working only wastes taxpayer money."

Analysis — Determining the impact of the $814 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been difficult since the law was signed in 2009.

Republicans point to the nation's 9.6% unemployment rate as evidence the measure has failed. The White House has touted a May CBO report that estimates the stimulus has increased by 1.2 million to 2.8 million the number of employed people in the first quarter of this year.

"The critical question is what would the economy have done in the absence of the stimulus," said Gary Burtless, an economist at the Brookings Institution think tank who believes the law has had an impact. "That's very hard to know."

Proposal — "Because the new health care law kills jobs, raises taxes, and increases the cost of health care, we will immediately take action to repeal this law."

Analysis — A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll this month found that 56% of Americans disapprove of the health care law Obama signed in March. That doesn't mean it would be easy for Republicans to do away with it.

To repeal the measure, Republicans would not only have to take back Congress, but they would also have to have enough votes to overturn a likely Obama veto. That would require a two-thirds vote.

Though the big-ticket spending items in the law such as subsidies to help families pay for insurance are required, Republicans could try to cut as much as $20 billion in start-up costs. With so much at stake, that showdown would be messy.

"If the Congress and president get into a dispute over how much is going to be provided for those activities you can get into a real pickle," said Paul Van de Water, an economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank.

Proposal — "We will allow individuals to buy health care coverage outside of the state in which they live."

Analysis — Letting people buy health coverage across state lines was a top GOP idea during the health care debate. The law includes a scaled-down version of that idea, allowing insurers to sell multistate policies if the states reached formal agreements to do so.

Opening up cross-state policies on a broader scale could encourage insurance companies to relocate to states with the least regulation, creating a race to the bottom.

Ken Thorpe, a health policy professor at Emory University, raises another issue: People who buy an out-of-state policy could struggle to find in-network doctors covered by the plan.

"You'd pay lower premiums," he said, "but you'd pay a lot more out of pocket."

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